House Democrats are playing their cards close to their chests in the latest
soap opera in the Republican conference. Overthrow Speaker Boehner or don't, they are telling Republicans because it's their problem. In the meantime, however,
maybe they ought to try governing.
"It's not our responsibility to try to solve their divisions," Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters in the Capitol on Wednesday.
Hoyer, the minority whip, said Democratic leaders have had no formal discussions on how they'd approach a potential coup to topple Boehner, as some conservatives are threatening. He suggested the Democrats would steer clear of the issue until forced to do otherwise.
"We'll have to respond to them when they manifest themselves in a way that it makes it necessary for us to respond," he said. "And we'll do that." […]
"We don't know what the Republicans are going to do, and our experience has been that the Republicans are somewhat unpredictable," he said.
"The thing you can usually predict is that they'll create chaos in some fashion or another."
Hoyer did, however, extend a little help to Boehner. Sort of. He
said that House Democrats would likely be happy to vote for a stop-gap funding bill at current levels to avoid a shutdown, depending on what the Senate, which is acting first, puts in the bill. "We have been clear that we want to keep the government open," he told reporters. "Under the circumstances, it might [get] our support, but I don't want to say that until I see what the Senate does."
Whether Boehner considers that help, though, is the big question. If he passes a "clean" funding bill as Democrats are demanding and with Democratic votes, then he's probably going to be subjected to a coup attempt. If he acquiesces to the hard-liners in his conference, and goes for the shutdown, he will inevitably have to capitulate to President Obama and Democrats soon thereafter to avoid total disaster for the party. Either way, Boehner is screwed as speaker. He might as well accept that and actually do what's right for the country.
Sign if you agree: Democrats must stand strong. No cuts to Planned Parenthood. No government shutdowns.